The Virtual Brain is an open-source, multi-scale, multi-modal brain simulation platform. In this lesson, you get introduced to brain simulation in general and to The Virtual brain in particular. Prof. Ritter will present the newest approaches for clinical applications of The Virtual brain - that is, for stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease - and show how brain simulation can improve diagnostics, therapy and understanding of neurological disease.

The concept of neural masses, an application of mean field theory, is introduced as a possible surrogate for electrophysiological signals in brain simulation. The mathematics of neural mass models and their integration to a coupled network are explained. Bifurcation analysis is presented as an important technique in the understanding of non-linear systems and as a fundamental method in the design of brain simulations. Finally, the application of the described mathematics is demonstrated in the exploration of brain stimulation regimes.

The simulation of the virtual epileptic patient is presented as an example of advanced brain simulation as a translational approach to deliver improved results in clinics. The fundamentals of epilepsy are explained. On this basis, the concept of epilepsy simulation is developed. By using an iPython notebook, the detailed process of this approach is explained step by step. In the end, you are able to perform simple epilepsy simulations your own.

Along the example of a patient with bi-temporal epilepsy, we show step by step how to develop a Virtual Epileptic Patient (VEP) brain model and integrate patient-specific information such as brain connectivity, epileptogenic zone and MRI lesions. The patient's brain network model is then evaluated via simulation, data fitting and mathematical analysis. This lecture demonstrates how to develop novel personalized strategies towards therapy and intervention using TVB.

This lecture focuses on higher-level simulation scenarios using stimulation protocols. We demonstrate how to build stimulation patterns in TVB, and use them in a simulation to induced activity dissipating into experimentally known resting-state networks in human and mouse brain, a well as to obtain EEG recordings reproducing empirical findings of other researchers.

This lecture presents the Graphical (GUI) and Command Line (CLI) User Interface of TVB. Alongside with the speakers, explore and interact with all means necessary to generate, manipulate and visualize connectivity and network dynamics. Speakers: Paula Popa & Mihai Andrei

This lecture briefly introduces The Virtual Brain (TVB), a multi-scale, multi-modal neuroinformatics platform for full brain network simulations using biologically realistic connectivity, as well as its potential neuroscience applications: for example with epilepsy.

The landscape of scientific research is changing. Today’s researchers need to participate in large-scale collaborations, obtain and manage funding, share data, publish, and undertake knowledge translation activities in order to be successful. As per these increasing demands, Science Management is now a vital piece of the environment.

Computational models provide a framework for integrating data across spatial scales and for exploring hypotheses about the biological mechanisms underlying neuronal and network dynamics. However, as models increase in complexity, additional barriers emerge to the creation, exchange, and re-use of models. Successful projects have created standards for describing complex models in neuroscience and provide open source tools to address these issues. This lecture provides an overview of these projects and make a case for expanded use of resources in support of reproducibility and validation of models against experimental data.

Next generation science with Jupyter. This lecture was part of the 2019 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.

Introduction to reproducible research. The lecture provides an overview of the core skills and practical solutions required to practice reproducible research. This lecture was part of the 2018 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.